James Lewis

Background

James Lewis, whose real name was James Lewis Deming, was born on October 5, 1837 in Troy, New York, United States, the son of William Hoadley and Arabella (Benson) Deming.

Career

When Lewis was seventeen years old and was employed as a clerk in a store in Troy, an actor who wished to look for a better engagement persuaded him to play a part in The Writing on the Wall for one night with the stock company at the Troy Museum. Although his part was a small one, he scored such a hit that he was offered an engagement for the remainder of the season, and this circumstance determined his choice of a career. From Troy he worked his way west and south, barnstorming, playing sometimes in tavern dining-rooms and even in churches.

When the Civil War broke out he was playing in Montgomery, Alabama, in a company in which John Wilkes Booth was leading man. He hastened to Savannah in time to catch the last steamer that sailed north before the blockade. Then came several seasons of "stock" in Rochester, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh, successively. In 1865 he was engaged as low comedian at the Olympic Theatre, in New York City. Here he acted in a great variety of farces and dramas. Later he was low comedian of the stock company at the Continental Theatre, Boston. During this engagement he was praised by the critics for his Dick Swiveller in The Old Curiosity Shop.

The popularity of burlesque at this time led Lewis into this field. His droll portrayals of the burlesque Lucretia Borgia, and Rebecca in Ivanhoe at the Waverly Theatre, New York, attracted the attention of the young Augustin Daly. Daly engaged Lewis for his stock company at the Fifth Avenue Theatre on West Twenty-fourth Street. Lewis first appeared there at the beginning of the third week of the Daly season, September 6, 1869, as John Hibbs in Dreams, receiving very flattering notices from the press. He acted in many rôles, constantly gaining in artistic technique. In the second Fifth Avenue Theatre, at Broadway and Twenty-eighth Street, Lewis added still further to his reputation. It was here in The Big Bonanza (February 17, 1875) that he and Mrs. George H. Gilbert had two of those parts which made the Daly Stock Company famous.

While Daly was in temporary retirement, Lewis, with Mrs. Gilbert, joined a company organized by Henry E. Abbey to play comedy in New York and on tour, but he rejoined the Daly company at Daly's Theatre, New York, in its second season, 1880-1881, and continued as one of the shining lights of this organization of brilliant artists. With John Drew, Mrs. Gilbert, and Ada Rehan he was one of the "Big Four" of the company, appearing several times with them in London and on the Continent and winning very favorable recognition from the critics. In old and modern comedy, especially in adaptations from the German, he excelled in the portrayal of comic old men. He died suddenly at West Hampton, Long Island.

Achievements

• James Lewis has been listed as a notable actor by Marquis Who's Who.

Personality

His outstanding characteristic as a comedian was his dryness, leading a Harvard professor to say, "Lewis is so dry he crackles. "

Connections

His first wife was a native of Cleveland, Ohio. His second wife, Medora Frances Herbert, whom he married on May 8, 1871, survived him.

Father:

William Hoadley

Mother:

Arabella (Benson) Deming

Spouse:

Medora Frances Herbert

References

• Curiosities of the American Stage (Illustrator Edition) by Laurence Hutton
• Plays and Players (Classic Reprint)
• A History of the Theatre in America from its Beginnings to the Present Time Volume II